Author Archives: Yves Smith

Debunking the Magnitude of Markets: A Holiday Story

Why markets, the god of neoliberalism, are not what they are cracked up to be.

The Sneaky Way Austerity Got Sold to the Public Like Snake Oil

How a budget approach cloaked in the aura of science and technical jargon became a tool for promoting austerity.

Randy Wray: Debt-Free Money and Banana Republics, Part II

More discussion of the problems with the “debt-free money” construct, to the extent that it can even be called a construct.

The Twelve Days of CalPERS

Will “The Twelve Days of CalPERS ” become a new holiday classic?

Links 12/23/15

Capitalism – Not China – Is to Blame for the Current Global Economic Decline

Capitalism’s “recovery” now proceeds like another speeding train headed toward contradiction and catastrophe.

What Influence Does Wall Street Have Over Candidates Clinton and Sanders?

Clinton plays with figures to understate her degree of Wall Street campaign support, and that ignores past support to the Clinton Foundation.

Holiday Schedule

Yes, dear readers, we will keep providing you with your daily fix over the holiday season.

CalPERS: Stockholm Syndrome and Cowardice on Private Equity Fee Disclosure

I have wanted to leave CalPERS alone. Really. Truly. But they keep asking for attention in the worst possible way.

U.S. Corporations Don’t Need Tax Breaks on Foreign Profits

Why a proposal to lower the tax rate on corporate funds that are “offshore” only from a tax perspective is just another corporate gimmie.

America’s Double Standard on Trade

Quelle surprise! The US fell all over itself to give Japan breaks on agricultural trade to cinch a TPP deal. But developing countries? Fuggedaboudit.

Wolf Richter: IPO Window Suddenly Closes, “Worst Year Since 2009,” Worst December Since 2008

The IPO market shutting down does not bode well for private equity returns, and may be sending a warning about real economy prospects.

How Prefunding Retiree Health Benefits Impacts the Postal Service’s Bottom Line – and How Brookings Got it Wrong

Exposing the serious numerical and conceptual flaws of yet another study that uses the trumped-up claim that the Postal Service is trouble to justify dismembering it.

Links 12/21/15